In the field of measuring devices, it is often difficult to determine the proper size of clothes for a proper fit just by knowing the age of the child. It is even more difficult to determine the proper clothing size that the child will be wearing at a specified future time. One reason for this difficulty is that manufacturers have no specific industry standard that specifies the particular dimensions of children's clothes coordinated with the proper labeling. For example, an outfit sized at "6 months" by a manufacturer typically varies greatly in actual size from one manufacturer to another. Moreover, a 6 month old child may more properly fit into an outfit that is sized by a manufacturer as "3 to 6 month", "6 month" or even "6 to 9 month", depending on how the manufacturer chooses to size the garments. Irrespective of actual fit, some manufacturers run their sizes smaller than others, relative to actual growth size of a child.
One way to determine the size of a child is to take a standard tape measure with inches and fractions of inches on it, and actually measure the child. With this information, one can go to the clothing store and measure the clothes in order to determine which size clothes the child will best fit into. The disadvantages and problems to this method are numerous. First, the shopper has to either re-measure the child every time before shopping or remember what length the child was the last time he or she was measured. Another problem is that there must be a child available to be measured. This is not possible when, for example, the shopper is buying for someone else's child and has no knowledge of the child's actual size, age, or dimensions.
Another disadvantage with this simplified method is that this gives the potential clothing purchaser no indication of what size the child will need in the future. For example, if someone is shopping for winter clothes in September, they will want the clothes to fit in January. Typically the stores put out all their fall fashions three to four months in advance. For a small child, the difference of three months, in this example from September to January, can mean a substantial growth in size of the child.
Standard tape measures are generally known in the art and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They are often found placed in a hardened case that encloses a retractable, coiled blade, loosely maintained (like a cloth measure), or foldably configured. The typical blade possesses standard units of measure of inches and meters, and subunits thereof (either in English or metric units) on one or both sides of the blade. The blade can be made from any number of flexible materials including fabric, fiberglass or thin metal. If the blade is encased, the retracting mechanism of the tape measure is also known in the art. It is normally either some type of spring mechanism attached to the inside end of the blade to automatically retract the blade, or a small handle on the outside of the case for the user to rewind the blade manually back into the case. In order stop the blade from always retracting with the automatic retraction type mechanism, a two position switch is typically placed somewhere on the outside of the case for the user to operate in order for the user to lock the blade while pulled out. This will stop the spring from pulling the blade back into the case until the operator disengages the lock and allows the spring to retract the blade.